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mf[ SKETCH i^ 



OF 



Mrs, Elizabeth Russell, 



WIFE OF GENERAL WILLIAM CAMPBELL. 



Sistcv of patrich 1l3env^. 



z?-^ 




M' I By y{er Craodjor?, 

THOMAS L. r^RElSTON. 



Nashville, Tkxn. : 

PuBLisHiNc House of the M. E. Church, South. 

J. D. Barbee, Agent. 

1888. 






?\ 




THIS LITTLE VOLUME, 
Written at the Request of a Methodist Minister, 

AND PUBLISHED IN 

The SoTJTI3:EIi]^T IMIethioxdist ZRevieatv 
Is Respectfully dedicated to the 
METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH. 



/^-^7;.^f^ 




->> 



^-f PRE FACE,* 



fHIS imperfect sketch of Mrs. Elizabeth Et'ssell was wi'ittcn at the 
request of the Eev. E. IST. Price, who aslced me '^ for a brief statement 
of such facts and incidents in her life as are in y<>ui" possession or memory, 
and a Avord-portrait of her character." When the task was commenced 
the material at hand was so scanty, and the incidents in my memor}- so 
few and shadowy, that I almost despaired of producing any thing worthy 
of notice or a place in the " History of Holston Methodism." However, I 
opened a correspondence with various members of my family, and sought 
such scraps of information as could be gathered from tradition and frag- 
ments of old letters and other papers. To Mrs. Sallie C. P. Miller, of 
Princeton, New Jersey, the eldest of my nieces, I am inider many obli- 
gations for valuable contrilnitions and suggestions, as well as to other 
members of the family. 

The investigation itself revived memories which had almost faded from 
my mind, and I was surprised at the distinctness with Avhich scenes, inci- 
dents, and words were recalled. Had I not embodied the information 
<'Ollected, and recorded my own recollections, the incidents in Mrs. Ens- 
sell's life would perhaps have been forgotten by this generation, or 
vaguely rememliered among the traditions of the country. Most of the 
letters and papers of Mrs. Eussell and my parents were lost by the burn- 
ing of the houses in which they were stored, and many of those saved 
from the flames Avere destroyed by Federal soldiers. 

The result of this '' labor of love " is now submitted to the public under 
a deep sense of its meagerness and many imperfections, but Avith the 
hope and pra^^er that it may awaken in the heart of some j)ilgrim of 
-earth a desire to imitate the example of this Christian woman. 

Thomas L. Preston. 

Septeml)er, 1888. 



L^^, 




A SKE:T<3H 



^lli^.v f ^Ct::^a5elPi I qKch^vvv^ 



ELIZABETH HE^^RY, the daughter of John and Sa- 
rah Plenrv, of Hanover county, Virginia, was born July 
10, 1749. She first married William Campbell, of Fincas- 
tle county, Virginia, April 2, 1776, and the following winter 
went with her husband to Aspenvale (now the property of 
Capt. Charles H. C. Preston, Smyth county, Va.), where 
Capt. Campbell had settled with his mother and sister in 
1768. This tract of land he inherited from his father, 
Charles Campbell, and was a part of a royal grant of one 
hundred and fifty thousand acres to James Patton. By^ 
him she had two children: the elder (Sarah Buchanan), 
born April 21, 1778, married Gen. Francis Preston, of Mont- 
gomery county, Virginia, January 10, 1793; and the young- 
er (Charles Henry), born Feb. 8, 1780, died Oct. 13, 1785. 
Gen. William Campbell died in Hanover county, Virgin- 
ia, at the house of Col. John Symms, the half-brother of his- 
wife, Aug. 22, 1781. Mrs. Campbell afterward married Gen. 
Wm. Russell. By him she had fonr children. The eldest 
(Henry AVinston), born 1784, died in infancy; the second 
(Elizabeth Henry), born in 1786, married Capt. Francis 
Smith, of Abingdon, Jan. 10, 1804, and died the following 

* Copvright by the Author, 1887. 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF EL^ABETH HENRY. 



October. The two youngest, Patrick and Jane, were twins, 
and were born in 1788. The former died when a few weeks 
old, and the hitter married Dr. Wm. P. Thompson, of Wash- 
ington county, Va. 

After her marriage with Gen. Russell, they remained at 
Aspenvale until February, 1788, when they removed to the 
Salt-works in Smyth county, where Mrs. Russell continued 
to reside until about 1812. Gen. Russell died Jan. 14, 1793. 

After leaving the Salt-works, Mrs. Russell moved to a 
house that stood not far from the western bank of the creek 
above the "Town House," at that time owned and occupied 
by her son-in-law, Dr. Wm. P. Thompson; and this contin- 
ued to be her earthly home until her death on the 18tli of 
March, 1825. 

This is an epitome of the family and life of a conspicu- 
ous woman. 

Of her girlhood nothing is known. She was in AVilliams- 
burg in September, 1775, with her brother, Patrick Henry 
(then awidower), and sister, Mrs, Ann Christian, when Capt. 
W^illiam Campbell reached there with his volunteer com- 
pany of riflemen, raised to aid Patrick Henry in the lirst 
organized armed movement in Virginia against the civil 
government of Great Britain. This movement was pro- 
voked by Lord Dunmore, who, on the 20th of April, 1775, 
ordered Capt. Henry Collins, of the schooner "Magdalen," 
at anchor in James River, to remove at night the powder in 
the old magazine of Williamsburg- on board the " Mao-dalen." 
The restoration of it was respectfully demanded b}^ the 
mayor, aldermen, and citizens, but refused by Lord Dun- 
more. This act of Lord Dunmore kindled like a torch the 
smolderino,' feelino' of rebellion in Virginia, and in less than 
eight days about seven hundred "minute men," armed and 
equipped, assembled at Fredericksburg, ready to march to 
Williamsburg and demand from Lord Dunmore a restora- 
tion of the powder, and a satisfactory guarantee of its future 
safety for the use of the Colony. The march of these pa- 
triots was arrested bv the cautious counsels of Gen. Wash- 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 



ingtoii, Edmund Pendleton, and others, who advised them 
to await the action of Congress ; and by a letter from Pey- 
ton Randolph, dated April 29, 1775, in which he said that 
the gentlemen of the city of Williamsburg and neighbor- 
hood had full assurance from Lord Dunmore that the affair 
of the pow'der should be accommodated. 

Patrick Henry, however, whose ])olitical prescience looks 
almost like inspiration, was not deceived by Lord Dun- 
more's j^romise; nor were his opinions modified by the 
weight of such authority as Washington, Pendleton, Peyton 
Randolph, and others. He saw the necessity of prompt 
action, and therefore sent express riders to notify the offi- 
cers and men of the independent company of Hanover 
county to meet him on the 2d of May at Newcastle, on 
the Pamunky. Such was the effect of the address he then 
delivered to them that Samuel Meredith, who was captain 
of the company, resigned ; and Henry was elected in his 
place. Tlie former accepted the position of lieutenant, and 
Parke Goodall was appointed ensign. Under this organi- 
zation the company started for Williamsburg. Messengers 
were sent to stop him, but Henry would not listen to tem- 
porizing counsel nor brook delay. On reaching Doncastle's 
Ordinary, sixteen miles from Williamsburg, he was met by 
Richard Corbin, his majesty's nx'eivei--general, who w^as 
sent by Lord Dunmore to tender him a bill of exchange for 
£330 as "compensation for the gunpowxler lately taken out 
of the magazine by the Governor's order." ]Mr. Henry ac- 
cepted it, and gave Mr. Corbin a receipt, dated Doncastle's 
Ordinary, New Kent, May 4, 1775. (Wirt's Life of Pat- 
lick Henry, page 142.) 

W^illiam Campbell was a "minute man," technically and 
literally, and was watching "the signs of the times." He 
had, Avith his volunteer company of riflemen, accompanied 
Col. Christian to Point Pleasant. Unfortunately, they 
reached there the night after the battle, Oct. 10, 1774, 
There he met Gen. Andrew Lewis, and his company was a 
part of those troops under Gen. Lewis who, on the 5th of 



10 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HEKRY. 

November, 1774, declared : "As the love of liberty and at- 
tachment to the real interests and just rights of America 
outweigh every other consideration, we resolve that we will 
exert every power within us for the defense of American 
liberty, and for the support of her just rights and priv- 
ileges." And on the 20th of January, 1775 (two months 
afterward), he, with Cols. William Preston, Christian, Ar- 
thur Campbell, William Edmondson, and the Rev. Charles 
Cummings, and other leading men of Fincastle county, 
composing the Holston settlement, sent a calm and patriotic 
address to the Continental Congress, announcing that "if 
no specific measures shall be proposed and adopted by 
Great Britain, and our enemies attempt to dragoon us out 
of those inestimable privileges which we are entitled to as 
subjects, and reduce us to slavery, we declare that we are 
deliberately and resolutely determined never to surrender 
them to any power upon earth, but at the expense of our 
lives. These are our real, though unpolished, sentiments 
of liberty and loyalty, and in them we are resolved to live 
and die." ("King's Mountain and Its Heroes," page 381: 
American Archives, Fourth Series, I. 993-1168.) Influ- 
enced by these antecedents, Capt. Campbell was on the alert, 
waiting fol* developments from the east. As soon, there- 
fore, as the echoes of Patrick Henry's voice reverberated 
among the hills of the Holston valley, he called his com- 
pany of riflemen together — those terrible "shirt men" — 
and marched to Williamsburg, a distance of more than four 
hundred miles, before the autumn leaves fell upon their 
pathway. Such promptness and zealous patriotism were 
eloquence in action, and secured for the gallant mountaineer 
a cordial welcome into the family circle of Patrick Henry. 
Capt. Campbell was of superb physique, six feet two 
inches high, straight, and soldierly in his bearing, quiet 
and polished in manners, and always deferential and chiv- 
alric toward women. His complexion was fair and fresh, 
without being ruddy, and his eyes were light blue and full, 
though not prominent, and varied in expression with every 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 11 

emotion. His brow was smooth and full, and his hair light 
brown with a tinge of red. In repose, his mouth and chin, 
which were finely shaped, expressed decision of character; 
and when his countenance lighted up with pleasure or af- 
fection, the smile was as soft and sweet as a woman's. But 
when roused to anger, there were few who did not quail 
under the concentrated gaze of those brilliant eyes. 

The first meeting of Miss Elizabeth Henry and Capt. 
Campbell was under circumstances well calculated to make 
a most favorable impression on each. These first impres- 
sions soon deepened into warmer feelings, and they were 
married the ensuing spring. 

The military duties of Capt. Campbell kept him in Will- 
iamsburg, or where the services of his company were re- 
quired, until the winter of 177(5, when he returned with his 
wife to Aspenvale. He Avas at Abingdon on the 1st of Jan- 
uary, 1777, and aided in the organization of Washington 
county. (Howe's History of Virginia, page 501.) 

From an early period of their married life, Mrs. Camp- 
bell exercised a softening and admirable influence upon her 
husband. The best exposition of his high regard and ten- 
der love for her is the following letter. It is written in a 
ver}^ clear, round hand, as distinct as a copy-plate. The 
paper now looks rough and flimsy, but must have been orig- 
inally smooth and firm to receive such delicate strokes of 
this beautiful penmanship. The dimensions of the sheet 
are unusual for these times, being sixteen and a quarter 
inches long by ten inches wide ; yet across these ten inches 
the lines are nearly as straight and regular as though they 
were ruled, and there are no erasures, and very few inter- 
lineations : 

Williamsburg, August 18, 1776. 

My Dearest Betsy: When I \vr<.te you last it was in the greatest hurry, 
and had only time to inform you tliat I was permitted to continue at this 
place until the time for which I engaged expires. I thought to have wrote 
to you by John Henry, but he went off unknown to me; since, I have 
bad no opportunity only by post, and I now write without knowing of a 
conveyance. 



12 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 

Last Tuesday a man (8ani Newell) arrived here by express in five days 
from my house, by whom I -was informed th^ a fort is built there, and 
that about four hundred people, consisting of men, women, and children, 
have collected to it. This has removed much of my anxiety, as I hope my 
mother and sisters will be prudent enough not to expose themselves to dan- 
ger, and the men gathered there will be a means of preserving the crop at 
least. 

Eighteen of our men, two or three women, and some children, have 
been killed. Our people have scalped twenty-seven Indians, and it is 
thought that many more have been killed, from the large quantities of blood 
that flowed from those who were wounded and ran away. Three Indians 
were seen about half a mile from my house, and several small parties have 
been discovered a considerable way on this side. I have now the scalp of 
one who was killed eight or nine miles from my house about three weeks 
ago. The first time I go up I shall take it along to let you see it. From 
the succes-i our people have hitherto had in every encounter with the Indians 
I flatter myself that these savages are much intimidated, and that they are 
now convinced they cannot make such an easy conquest as they at first im- 
agined. 

I received your sweet and most affectionate letter of the 9th inst. by Col. 
Meredith. The fear jou. there express for my going to the northward, or 
against the Cherokees, you may entirely la}^ aside. My fate has done you 
this favor, I must confess, even against my inclination. I last week applied 
to the General for leave to go home, and was peremjitorily refused. He or- 
dered me to stay here, and take command of the soldiers belonging to the 
first regiment who continue at this place. I do not yet know how long I 
will be obliged to stay here. I make no doubt but it will be above a month 
yet. If the horse you mentioned please you right well, by all means buy 
him; though inquire . . . the ... if he is given either to stumbling or 
starting; they are . . . especially in a woman's hackney. 

I most heartily thank you, my dear, for your attention, for providing me 
such necessaries as I stand in need of. I fear you are too solicitous and 
give yourself too much trouble. You bring to my mind Solomon's excel- 
lent description of a good wife: "She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh 
willingly with her hands. She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her 
hands hold the distaft'. She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her 
clothing is silk and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, when he 
sitteth among the elders of the land." Such is my dearest Betsy. Her worth 
I esteem far above rubies. 

I have now lived about a week in the house where I was first blessed Avith 
a sight of my dear Betsy. Little did I at that time think that such super- 
lative happiness was destined for me. From that happy moment I date the 
hour of all my bliss. I love the place on your account. 

It is uncertain when I shall have the happiness of seeing you again, as I 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 15 

seem to be more than ever confiaed. I have the charge of about two hun- 
dred men, at least one-third of them sick, and but two subalterns in the 
whole who are able to do duty, and they are at this time upon a command 
at Jamestown: so that I have not just now an officer in camp to assist me 
in the least. This will always be the case unless we are incorporated with 
some other regiment, which I do not know whether the General designs or 
not. 

I have got the needles and pins for you which you wrote for. I wisli 
they may answer the purpose, as I believe both are the manufacture of 
Philadelphia, and the first attempts in things of that kind do not in com- 
mon succeed very well. No such thing as a card to be procured here. Had 
you not better get several pairs of the clothier's cards, which I heard you 
talk of? They will be better than none at all. If you can get a good 
many pairs of them, as their price is trifling, you might . . . taken by the 
girls about you; though you are the best judge of this yourself. 

By Sam Newell I wrote to Col. Christian, and hinted to him that I was 
desirous to have soldiers stationed at my place, if he thought there was any 
necessity for them there. It will be the means of preventing the people from 
flying farther oft' if they could think themselves safe there. Newell could 
not inform me Avhether the Colonel would accept of the command upon tlu 
expedition, as the letters from the Council had not come to his hands when 
Newell came along. 

I have been tolerably well since I came down, but do not recover my 
health near so fast as while I was with you. I most heartily wish my . . . 
this country; it does not at all agree with our highland constitutions. . , 
Will see you as soon as I possibly can. 

May you be the peculiar . . . heaven, and that you may enjoy every nec- 
essary blessing and comfort, . . . dearest Betsy. Your most aftectionate 

Wm. Campbell. 
P. S. — Our friend Mr. Trigg is recovering fast. He is now able to take 
an airing in a chair, and has walked this day from Captain Anderson's to 
pay me a visit. He thanks you for the apples you sent him, and acknowl- 
edges them as a very grateful present. W. C. 

To her lie was ahvays gentle, considerate, and affection- 
ate. When provoked to anger, a look or word from her re- 
laxed the knit brow and lighted his expressive face with a 
sweet, bright smile. 

His hatred of Tories was a passion. He had learned 
something of their character in Eastern Virginia. At his 
own home they had badgered him by every means of an- 
noyance. Upon his gate-posts they had fastened placards 
threatening his life, and he knew he was watched and waylaid. 



14 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HEKRY. 

The only hope of peace and safety for his family and him- 
self, as well as for that of the community, was to drive 
these traitors from the country and extinguish by every 
means this element of discord and danger. Among them 
there were some persons of "doubtful minds;" and while 
they secretly aided and abetted the Tories, they tried to pre- 
serve a fair standing with the patriots. Such a one lived not 
far from Aspenvale, and, dreading Col. Campbell's wrath, he 
came one day to his house when he knew he was absent, to 
beg Mrs. Campbell to intercede for him. During the inter- 
view, and while most humbly beseeching her to interpose 
in his behalf, the front door was opened, and in walked the 
Colonel. A glance at his face made the Tory spring from 
his seat and rush for the backdoor. The Colonel whipped 
out his sword, and was in the act of bringing it down with 
all the power of his strong arm upon the Tory's head, when 
Mrs. Campbell sprung forward and caught his upraised el- 
bow. This made the point of the sword strike the lintel of 
the door, and saved the Tory's head. So powerful wns the 
blow that it cut a deep gash in the hard oak lintel and bent 
the point of that celebrated "Andrea de Ferrara." The 
bend could never be entirely straightened, and there it re- 
mains to this day.* As soon as the paroxysm of passion 
was over. Gen. Campbell turned to his wife, and, moved by 
the expression of her face, caught her in his arms and 
thanked her for saving the life of the poor fellow, who, 
though he deserved to be hanged, ought not to be cut down 
under his roof and in her presence. 

The execution of Francis Hopkins, the notorious Tory and 
desperado, in the summer of 1779, is an historical incident 
of such importance that it should not be omitted in any 

* Mrs. Preston, daughter of Gen. Wm. Canipbell, kept this sword on 
brackets fastened to the wall at the head of her bed, and when drawn from 
its scabbard to be cleaned and oiled, the bend at the point was shown to her 
children as a memento of this incident. Gen. Jolm S. Preston wore this 
sword in the war between the States, and it is now the property of his 
grandson, Wm. C. Preston. 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HEXRY. 15 

notice of the life of either Gen. Campbell or his wife. It 
was characteristic of the times, and gives an insight into the 
state of society and sentiment of the period. It has been 
widely circnlated, often repeated, and generally misrepre- 
sented, because the facts were not accurately known. The 
account given by Mr. Lyman C. Draper, in " King's Mountain 
and Its Heroes," pages 384-387, is the fullest, and, except 
in a few immaterial circumstances and the omission of some 
facts, accnrate in all its details. My version of the story 
was obtained chiefly from my mother, Mrs. Sarah B. Pres- 
ton, daughter of Gen. Wm. Campbell, who heard it, doubt- 
less, from those who were actors in it; and from old John 
Brawdy, the faithful body-servant of Gen. Campbell. 

To appreciate properly the conduct of those who were 
most prominent in this transaction, their relative positions 
should be kept distinctly before the mind, as well as the 
23eriod at which it occurred. 

Col. Campbell was a magistrate, as well as military com- 
mandant of that district of Washington county, and exer- 
cised both civil and military authority, and in this twofold 
capacity was, in a great measure, responsible for the good 
order and safety of the citizens within his district. 

Francis Hopkins was an outlaw and a desperate Tory — a 
terror to the unprotected families of the neighborhood. He 
had been convicted of passing counterfeit money, and im- 
prisoned at Cocke's Fort on Renfroe's Creek. His confed- 
erates in crime at night pried the prison-door from its 
hinges and delivered him. He took refuge with the open- 
ly armed enemies of the State in North Carolina, and from 
them accepted "a commission with letters to the Cherokee 
Indians and the white emissaries among them, urging them 
to fall upon the frontier settlers with fagot, knife, and tom- 
ahawk." ("King's Mountain and Its Heroes.") He was at 
that time on his way to meet them, and doubtless expected 
to enlist recruits and obtain horses in that portion of Vir- 
ginia for his nefarious expedition. In short, he was an 
■enemy of mankind, and, like Cain, deserved death at the 



16 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 

hands of every man. It was in the summer of 1779, just 
after the daring and dangerous uprising of Tories in Mont- 
gomery county, Va., had been suppressed by the prompt- 
ness and energy of Coh Walter Crockett. The public 
mind was much excited, and a restless feeling of insecurity 
pervaded all that portion of the State. 

The account given of the "start" in the race after Hop- 
kins was often told me by John Brawdy, the body-servant 
of Col. Wm. Campbell ; and his statements were corrobo- 
rated by Mrs. Sarah B. Preston, Col. Campbell's daughter. 
It was briefly this : 

" One bright Sunday eA^ening we — massa and missus, and 
many of de neighbors — were coming home from de Ebbny 
Spring church, whar we had been to preaching, and as we 
Avere riding along slowly up de hill about half a mile or 
so below de Stone House,* and just as dem in front got 
to de top, dey all stopped right still in de road. I was 
behind, when Massa Billy (de Colonel, you know) turned 
round and called me, and said, 'Come here quickly, John.' 
I whipped up my horse and came along close up to his sidt, 
for I knowed when he spoke dat way he was in a hurry, 
and I had to be lively in my motions. As soon as I got in 
reach, he handed me de baby he was toting on a piller be- 
fore him, and said, ' Take care of her and your missus, 
John ;' and I hardly got her in my arms before he dug de 
spurs in his horse, and hollerd, 'Follow, men!' and dey all 
went off like mad. I never seed such a scampering as dar 
was dat day. And dar I was left a-standing in de road 
wid de baby in my arms, and missus and de other ladies 
of de company. And dat leetle baby dat I carried before 
me on de piller dat day was your own mother, my blessed 
young missus." 

*The Stone House, now the property of James Byars, was the citadel of 
the fort at that place, built in 1776. It is of stone, with double walls, 
pierced for musketry, and was covered with a thick coating of mortar to 
prevent its being set on fire. It was proof against the arrows of the In- 
dians and the small arms of the period. 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 17 

Besides the group which composed Col. Wm. Campbell's 
party, and are mentioned by Mr. Draper in ''King's Mount- 
ain and Its Heroes" (viz., John Campbell and family, Capt. 

Jas. Dysart and wife, James Fullen, and Paris) there 

were others returning in the same direction from church ; 
and although they did not join in the chase, they followed 
more leisurely to the place of capture. If I mistake not, 
one of these was Mr. Greaver, grandfather of Gen, Jas. S. 
Greaver, late Senator in the Legislature of Virginia. 

As Col. Campbell's party reached the summit of the hill 
mentioned by John Brawdy, they saw a man approaching 
from the opposite direction. As soon as he observed them 
he turned quickly out of the road into the woods. As 
prompt, however, as was his action, he was recognized by 
John Campbell, who said to Col. Wm. Campbell, "That's 
• Frank Hoj)kins." The announcement of this name startled 
the entire party, and all were ready for the dash as soon as 
Col. Campbell put his child in the arms of his servant. 
When he gave the command, "Follow, men !" all started at 
full speed. Hopkins had turned back into the road when 
he thought he was out of sight of the party returning from 
church. His pursuers, on reaching the eastern descent of 
the hill, saw^ him a few hundred yards in advance, urging 
his horse with whip and spur. The race was for life, and 
the avengers' pursuit was furious. They soon discovered 
they were gaining rapidly on the fugitive. He heard the 
clatter of the hoofs, and saw, as he glanced back, that the 
foremost horseman would soon be upon him if he kept to 
the open road. By a sudden and strong effort he wheeled 
his horse, and plunging the spurs into his sides made him 
leap from the bank into the river. The leap and the w^ater 
suddenly checked the horse and threw Hopkins on the pom- 
mel of the saddle. Before he could recover his seat and 
urge the horse to further exertion. Col. Campbell forced his 
horse into the stream and was by his side. Col. Campbell 
threw himself into the river, and, as he did so, seized the 
holsters on Hopkins's saddle, and jerking them ofP dropped 



18 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENET. 

them into the water. With his other hand he caught the 
bridle-rein of Hopkins's horse, and, quickly drawing his 
sword, ordered him to surrender. Surprised by the quick- 
ness of Col. Campbell's action, Hopkins sat upon his horse 
dazed and motionless; and as they thus faced each other. 
Col. Campbell waist-deep in water, other members of the 
party arrived, and surrounding Hoi)kins escorted him to 
the river's bank. 

A court of " oyer and terminer" was improvised, and wit- 
nesses were called and sworn "to tell the truth, the whole 
truth, and nothing but the truth," and upon their testimony, 
and other evidence then and there produced, Hopkins was 
convicted of crimes adjudged worthy of death. The com- 
mission and letters to the Cherokee Indians were found 
upon his person. The horse he rode had been stolen that 
day, and the halters tied to his saddle were evidently in- 
tended for others to be obtained in the same way. 

After conviction, short shrift was given the culprit. He 
was hanged with one of his own halters to a limb of the 
sycamore-tree which canopied court, witnesses, and s]3ec- 
tators, and was buried among its roots. Silently and sadly 
the company dispersed from this solemn and memorable 
scene. 

When Col. Campbell rejoined his wife she eagerly in. 
quired, "What did you do with him, Mr. Campbell?" "0 
we hung him, Betty— that's all ! " * 

At that time there were no secure jails in the country. 
Col. Campbell and his associates had neither leisure nor in- 
clination for guarding and bringing to a formal trial at the 
court-house such a dangerous outlaw as Hopkins. They 
therefore executed him, not as an excited mob administer- 
ing lynch law, but deliberately, as loyal citizens of Virginia, 
and under enlightened consciences and a full sense of their 
responsibility to God and their country ; and the country 
generally approved and indorsed their conduct, as is estab- 

* King's Mountain and Its Heroes, page 384. 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH IIEXRY. 19 

lished by the fact that at the next session of the Legisla- 
ture in October an act was passed, at the instance of Gen. 
Thomas Nelson, specifically and fully exonerating and in- 
demnifying Col. Campbell and those who acted with him. 

There are no letters nor other written evidence now ex- 
isting to reveal the daily life of Col. and Mrs. Campbell. 
When at home, and not engaged in public duties, he aided 
in the cultivation of his farm, and held the plow with his 
own hands. One day, after he had issued a mandate re- 
quiring all the men of that district to report at his house 
and renew their oaths of allegiance to Virginia, he was 
plowing the field in front of it, when Mitchell Scott rode up. 
Tying his horse to the fence, he climbed over, and waited 
until the Colonel came around to the place where he was 
standing. The Colonel stopped his team, greeted Scott 
very kindly, then turned the plow out of the furrow and 
sat upon the beam, and motioned Scott to a seat by his side, 
prepared for a chat. They discussed the topics of the day 
and neighborhood, and then Scott, rising, said : " Well, Col- 
onel, I got your notice about taking the oath of allegiance, 
and I have come to renew mine." The Colonel looked at 
him for a moment, and replied: "Why, Scott, you know I 
did not intend that notice for you, or for such men as you 
are, but for those secret Tories and half-hearted patriots. 
We must find out who these are, and make them do their 
duty or rid the country of them." Scott was an Irishman, 
a true patriot, and a man of courage. He was quick to take 
a hint, and prompt to act upon it. An incident in Mr. 
Scott's life illustrates his character. His house was not far 
from the Salt-works valley, and the path leading to it i)assed 
through a dense canebrake. On one occasion he was going 
along this path vvith a spade upon his shoulder, and in the 
narrowest part of it and thickest growth of cane a fine 
snag buck, bloody and furious from a recent fight, confront- 
ed him. As soon as the animal saw Scott he turned his 
hair the wrong way and rushed at him. Scott grasped the 
spade with both hands and braced himself for the attack. 



20 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENBY. 

and just as the buck lowered his head for the fatal lunge 
struck him between the horns and cleft the skull down to 
the e3'es, 

Mrs. Campbell was doubtless occupied by the routine du- 
ties incident to a frontier life and an isolated position. Her 
influence, however, extended beyond the home circle ; and 
it was that influence which made the house of Col. Camp- 
bell the most attractive in all that country. He won the 
esteem and confidence of the men, molded their opinions, 
and inspired them with his own high principles and zealous 
patriotism. They looked up to him as their leader, and 
loved, trusted, and obeyed him. Hence the facility with 
which he assembled and organized the volunteer compa- 
nies in the autumns of 1774 and 1775, and that noble and 
gallant regiment which he led to and commanded at King's 
Mountain in 1780. 

To Mrs. Campbell came the poor and the distressed as to 
one from whom they were sure of relief and sympathy and 
wise counsel, while the better classes were attracted by her 
social qualities and the charm of her manners and conver- 
sation. During his frequent absences on civil and military 
duty, she needed no other protection than that of their faith- 
ful slaves and the kind neighbors, who regarded her as a 
sacred charge to be looked after and guarded with zealous 
care. She was, however, a woman of great courage and 
self-reliance, and habitually, in prayer, committed her safe- 
keeping to God, who watched over and spared her for other 
and greater work in the years to come. 

Col. Campbell was a member of the Legislature in 1780, 
and on the 14tli of June was elected a brigadier-general of 
militia to serve under the Marquis de Lafaj^ette, then 
commanding in Virginia. On the 16th he obtained leave 
of absence for the remainder of the session, and reported 
at once for service to Gen. Lafayette, who assigned him 
to the command of a brigade of light infantry and riflemen. 
At that time Corn wall is was encamped at Williamsburg, 
and Gen. Lafayette's army six miles distant on the road 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 21 

to Richmond. While engaged in active service General 
Campbell was taken with an acute disease of the chest or 
bowels. He was carried to Col. John Symm's (Mrs. Camp- 
bell's half-brother), in Hanover county, where, after a few 
days' illness, he died on the 22d of August, 1781. The blow 
to his wife was unexpected and overwhelming. When the 
news of his death reached the Holston valley, a deep gloom 
settled upon the community, and they mourned as for a na- 
tional calamity. Nor did this feeling soon pass away. In 
after years, when the white wings of peace had spread over 
the country, it was manifested by his friends and comrades- 
in-arms, who would come to his house, take his little daugh- 
ter — his only surviving child — upon their knees, pet and ca- 
ress her, talk to her about her father, and tell of his gallant 
and chivalric deeds in war, and of his kindness and gener- 
osit}^, until the tears streamed down their cheeks. These 
stories, told with such graphic simplicity and touching- 
pathos by the veterans of the Revolution, made a deep and 
lasting impression upon the child, and filled her mind with 
an ideal hero for whom, during all her life, she cherished a 
reverence and love that bordered on adoration. 

During Mrs. Campbell's widowhood she resided at As- 
penvale. Gen. William Russell came to that neighborhood, 
where he owned a tract of land, in 1781. He became ac- 
quainted with Mrs. Campbell, and interested himself in her 
business afi*airs. He obtained patents for the bounty lands 
given by the State of Virginia to Col. Wm. Campbell and 
Lieut. Samuel Campbell, and located the patent for 2,6661 
acres belonging to the heirs of Lieut. Campbell, with his own 
patents on Caldwell's Creek, a branch of Green River, in 
Kentucky. He and Mrs. Campbell were married in 1783. 

Gen. Wm. Russell was tall and of commanding presence, 
soldierly in his bearing, courteous in manner, and refined 
and cultivated in conversation. But underneath this smooth 
and polished exterior there was a proud, stern nature and 
an imperious temper. The discipline in his family was 
austere, and so harshly did it press upon his step-daughter, 
Sarah B. Campbell, that her uncle Arthur Campbell ap- 
plied to the court of Washington county to have her taken 
from his guardianship. This was done* in 1789; and Capt. 
Thomas Madison, her uncle-in-law, being appointed her 



22 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 

guardian, removed her to the affectionate and congenial 
influences of his family circle. 

After their marriage in 1783, Gen. and Mrs. Russell 
lived an uneventful life at Aspenvale until February, 1788, 
when they moved to the Salt-works — then called the "Salt 
Lick" — in Smyth county, and afterward known as "Pres- 
ton's Salt-works." This they did in order that Gen. Russell 
might give his personal attention to the manufacture of 
salt, which was rapidly developing into an important in- 
dustry. 

It was in the ensuing month of April that both of them 
were converted to Methodism, of which the Rev. Thomas 
Ware, in his "Life," gives the following account: 

Our first Conference in Holston was lield in May, 1788. As the road by 
which Bisliop Asbury was to come was infested with hostile savages, so that 
it could not be traveled except by considerable companies together, he was 
detained for a week after the time appointed to commence. But we were 
not idle, and the Lord gave us many souls in the place where we were assem- 
bled; among them were Gen. Russell and lady, the latter a sister of the 
illustrious Patrick Henry. I mention these particularly, because they were 
the first-fruits of our labors at this Conference. 

On the Sabbath we had a crowded audience, and Mr. Tuunell preached an 
excellent sermon, which produced great effect. The sermon was followed by 
a number of powerful exhortations. When the meeting closed, Mrs. Rus- 
sell came to me and said: ' I thought I was a Christian; but, sir, I am not a 
Christian — I am the veriest sinner upon earth. I want you and Mr. MaStin 
to come with Mr. Tunnell to our house and pray for us, and tell us what we 
must do to be saved.' So we went, and spent much of the afternoon in prayer, 
especially foi- INIrs. Russell; but she did not obtain deliverance. Being much 
exliau.-ttd, the preachers retired to a pleasant grove near at hand to spend a 
short time. 

After we retired, the General, seeing the agony of soul under which his 
poor wife was laboring, read to her, by the advice of his pious daughter, Mi-. 
Fletclier's charming address to mourners, as contained in his 'Appeal' At 
length we heard the word ' Glory !' often repeated, accompanied with the 
clapping of hands. We hastened to the house, and found Mrs. Russell 
l)raising the Lord, and the General walking the floor and weeping bitterly, 
uttering at this time this plaintive appeal to the Saviour of sinners: '0 Lord, 
thou didst bless my dear wife while thy poQr servant was reading to her; hast 
thou not also a blessing for me?' At length he sat down quite exhausted. 
Tnis scene was in a high degree interesting tons. To see the old soldier anil 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HEKUY. 'I'^ 

statesman, the proud opposer of godliness, trembling, and earnestly inquiring 
■what he must do to be saved, was an affecting sight. But the work ended 
not here. The conversion of Mrs. Russell, whose zeal, good sense, and amia- 
bleness of character were proverbial, together with the penitential grief so 
conspicuous in the General, made a deep impression upon the minds of many, 
and many were brought in before the Conference closed. The General 
rested not until he knew his adoption; and he continued a faithful member 
of the Church, and an official member after he became eligible to office, con- 
stantly adorning the doctrine of God our Saviour until the end of his life. 

Under deep conviction and spiritual excitement, Mrs. 
E-ussell said: "I thought I was a Christian; but, sir, I am 
not a Christian — I am the veriest sinner upon earth," And 
yet Mr. Ware states that "-her zeal, good sense, and amia- 
bleness of character were proverbial." These traits of 
character bear testimony not only to the influence of early 
training and natural disposition, but also to a life governed 
by the principles of the Christian religion. Her father^ 
John Henry, was a member of the Episcopal Church, and 
the lives of his children illustrated the abiding influence of 
parental piety. Patrick Henry was one of the purest and 
most exemplary men of the Revolution. He was an habit- 
ual reader of the Bible, and accepted it as a revelation from 
God ; and although he never united himself to any Churchy 
his spotless moral character was evidence of a firm belief 
and trusting faith in Jesus. He neither swore nor gambled 
nor drank, and there was a gentleness and child-like sim- 
plicity in his intercourse with his friends, but more espe- 
cially in his family, that resembled, if it were not, the genuine 
fruit of God's Spirit upon the human heart. 

The impression made by Mrs. Russell on her acquaint- 
ances and friends, previous to her avowed conversion, was 
that she was a Christian. She may have quieted her con- 
science by a formal observance of external ceremonies, and 
lulled it by a dangerous confidence in and reliance upon a 
pure, spotless morality. From this fatal selfdelusion, 
known only to God, her soul was aroused by the fervent 
preaching and exhortations of Messrs. Tunnell, Ware, and 
others. Awakened to the true SDiritual condition of her 



24 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 

soul, she faltered not, but "in agony of tears" prayed for 
pardon and i:)eace. Like the wind the Spirit came, and, 
wafting away the clouds which darkened, let the light of 
God's reconciled countenance shine upon her heart. From 
that moment she consecrated herself to God, and her sub- 
sequent life was in absolute harmony with the professions 
then made. Not many days after her conversion Bishop 
Asbury arrived, and in his Journal made the following entry : 

1788, Virginia. Saturday, 31 (May). We came to Geu. Russell's — a most 
kind family indeed and in truth. 

Sunday, 4. — Preached on Phil. ii. 5-9. I found it good to get alone in 
prayer. 

The significance of the last sentence is made apparent by 
a glance at the privations and hardships he had undergone 
in the fatiguing journey from Rutherford Court-house, in 
North Carolina, to the comfortable house of a refined family. 
His pathway had been through primitive forests and over 
rough and lofty mountains. The country was sparsely set- 
tled, and it was difficult to obtain shelter in the rough log- 
cabins on the way, and food for man or beast. The guests 
and family occupied the same room, and there was noj^rivacy 
and no opportunity for meditation or prayer. To the Bishop, 
sick and suffering, this was a sad privation, and one of the 
sore trials in his laborious episcopal and apostolic work. 

The first Holston Conference was held at Halfacre's and 
Keywood's, about three miles from Gen. Russell's. The 
Bishop says : " The weather was cold, the room without fire, 
and otherwise uncomfortable; we nevertheless made out to 
keep our seats until we had finished the essential part of 
our business." 

In this immediate neighborhood was soon afterward built 
Mahanaim Church, of substantial hewed logs; and there it 
stood until some few years ago, when "decay's effacing fin- 
gers" made it unsafe, and it was pulled down, and a sub- 
stantial frame building erected upon its site. 

Again, in 1790, Bishop Asbury visited this part of Vir- 
ginia, and on April 20th enters in his Journal: "We had a 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 25 



good prayer-meeting at Gen. Russell's. This family is lavish 
in attention and kindness. I was nursed as an only child 
by the good man and woman of the house, and indeed by 
all the family. God Almighty bless them and reward 
them ! " 

In May, 1793, the Bishop says: 

Saturday, 19. — Came to Sister Russell's. I am very solemn. I feel the 
want of the dear man who, I trust, is now in Abraham's bosom, and hope 
erelong to see him there. He was a general officer in the Continental army, 
where he underwent great fatigue. He was powerfully brought to God, and 
for a few years past was a living tiame and a blessing to his neighborhood. 
He went in the dead of winter on a visit to his friends, was seized with an 
influenza, and ended his life from home. O that the gospel may continue 
in this house! 

The Bishop did not fail to visit Mrs. Russell in after 
years when his episcopal duties required him to pass through 
that portion of the State, and these he chronicles in his 
Journal in 1797, 1801, and 1802. Mrs. Russell regarded 
them as "times of refreshing from the Lord," anticipated 
them wdth pleasure, and referred to them as bright epochs 
in her life. 

In 1792 Gen. Russell's health failed. He decided, how- 
ever, to attend the Legislature — of which he was a member 
— that winter in Richmond, and to pay his son Robert S. 
Russell, who lived in Shenandoah county, a visit on the way. 
But before leaving home he became so feeble and apprehen- 
sive about his condition that his wife, with their two young- 
est daughters, and his son-in-law — the Rev. Hubbard Saun- 
ders — with his wife, decided to accompany him. They left 
home on the 15th day of December, 1792, and did not reach 
Robert S. Russell's until the 1st of January, 1793. On the 
way the party stopped and rested at Capt. Thos. Madison's 
(guardian of Mrs. Russell's daughter, Miss Sarah B. Camp- 
bell), in Botetourt county. After reaching his son's. Gen. 
Russell, who had taken a bad cold on the journey, grew 
rapidly worse, and died on the 14th. 

Soon after that sad journey and its sadder termination, 



2() SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 

Mrs. Russell returned to her home at the Salt-works. The 
family circle was in a little while broken up. Gen. Russell's 
children by his first marriage went to their own homes in 
Kentucky, and the widow was left with her two little daugh- 
ters, Elizabeth and Jane, the former seven and the latter 
five years old. 

On the 6th of May, 1793, she was appointed administra- 
trix of her husband's estate; but after two years she made 
a settlement, and resigned this responsible position on the 
28th of April, 1795. 

Not long afterward she entered into an agreement with 
Gen. Russell's children, by which she relinquished to them 
her entire right of dower in all his real estate for little more 
than a nominal consideration, but stipulated that the relin- 
quishment should not afi"ect the interests of her daughters 
Elizabeth and Jane. 

About the same time she manumitted absolutely all the 
slaves she owned in fee-simple, and those she held by right 
of dower were set free during her life. These latter, and 
notably among them John Brawdy, were provided with 
homes on the Salt-works estate — which had been much 
enlarged by the entry or purchase of adjoining lands— - 
w^here they lived until her death in 1825. 

John Brawdy held a free lease for life on a rich tract of 
land on the river above the Salt-works, where he raised a 
large family, and lived respected by white and colored until 
about 1848. In his old age, when asked how old he was, 
he would reply : " Well, master, I really don't know exactly ; 
but I reckon I must be more than a hundred — I done see so 
much." He was about ninety-five, or perhaps one hundred. 

It is a striking fact, and worthy of mention in this con- 
nection, that not one of the dower negroes attempted to 
escape during the period of their temporary freedom. On 
the death of Mrs. Russell they were incorporated among 
the slaves of Gen. Francis Preston, and some of them were 
made house and body servants and distributed among his 
children. So identified with and faithful to the family 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 29 

were they that they became the trusted servants of those 
to whom they were given, and were true to them in South 
Carolina, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Virginia, during and 
since the civil war. One branch of the family belonged to 
the writer, and is now the trusted head man of his house- 
hold, and is the fifth "Kiah" in regular descent from the 
slave who belonged to Mrs. Elizabeth Russell. 

Mrs. Russell also gave up her dower interest in General 
Campbell's estate to her daughter, Mrs. Sarah B. Preston. 
By these acts of self-abnegation and generosity she was 
disentangling herself from the responsibilities and cares of 
the world, and preparing to dedicate her time and thoughts 
to the greater interests of eternity. 

Gen. Francis Preston married Sarah B. Campbell on the 
10th of January, 1793, at Capt. Thomas Madison's ; went 
soon afterward to Washington county, and that same year 
was elected to Congress, It then met in Philadelphia, 
whither he went with his young and beautiful wife. There, 
on the 27th of December, 1794, William C. Preston was 
born, on South Fourth street, opposite the African church. 
On the adjournment of Congress he came to and fixed his 
home at the Salt-works. The house he occupied had been 
built by Capt, Thomas Madison, and was on the south side 
of the valley, immediately opposite to that of Mrs. Russell 
at the base of the northern hills. At that time nearly one- 
third of the valley was covered with water, and between 
Mrs. Russell's and Gen. Preston's there was an open pond, 
or lake, more than a quarter of a mile wide, and quite 
half a mile long. In winter, large flocks of wild ducks, 
geese, and swan frequented it. One of the old settlers told 
me, and often recurred to the fact, that his mother gave 
him a pint of cream for every swan he would kill, and 
would add, " I got my cream nearly every day." 

Canoes and skiffs were put upon the pond and used by 
hunters to shoot from, and recover this game. On damp 
nights the will-with-a-wisp, or jack-with-a-lantern, was often 
seen flitting among the tall flags and weeds that grew 



30 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 

near the margin of the lake. This flickering and mysterious 
light was a fruitful source of superstition, and was the 
foundation of many weird witch stories among the simple 
and imaginative whites and credulous negroes. 

The distance in an air line from Mrs. Russell's to Gren. 
Preston's is about eleven hundred yards ; and so remarkable 
were the vision and the voice of the former that she could 
distinguish the members of the family in the porch or yard 
at Gen. Preston's, and would call to them and ask how they 
were. The reply was given by concerted signals, for no 
other voice sent articulate sentences across that level ex- 
panse. 

Mrs. Russell's daughter Elizabeth married Capt. Francis 
Smith — a tirst cousin of Gen. Preston, and then an inmate 
of his family — January 10th, 1804. Not long after the 
marriage her health gave way, and she died the following- 
October. At the time of her death the asfonizinn* screams 
of the bereaved mother were distinctly heard by the family 
at Gen. Preston's. 

Mrs. Smith was buried, at her own request, on the sum- 
mit of the "Sugar Loaf," a conical hill west of and near 
Gen. Preston's, at the western base of which issues the 
spring which supplies the water for driving a twenty-foot 
mill-wheel not more than fifty yards distant. From the 
"Sugar Loaf" there is a charming view of the valley and 
surrounding country, of Mrs. Russell's house, and the white 
and red rocks which crown the crest of Clinch Mountain. 
It is one of the most beautiful and picturesque landscapes 
of Virginia. Mrs. Smith's remains were removed to the 
family burying-place at Aspenvale in 1842. After thirty- 
eight years of sepulture, the rich auburn hair retained much 
of its freshness, and coiled in massive folds where the head 
of that lovely young woman had been laid to rest. 

When Gen. Preston and his family moved to Abingdon, 
in 1812, Mrs. Russell decided to leave the Salt-works. In 
the meanwhile her youngest daughter, Jane, had married 
Dr. William Patton Thompson, who lived at the "Town 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 31 

House," now the property of ^Ir. C. Beattie. It was so 
called because from its roof, as was supposed, Abingdon 
could be seen, a distance of eighteen miles. 

Dr. Thompson's landed estate was one of the largest and 
finest in all that section of country. It extended from As- 
pen vale on the east to below Gen. Greavor's on the west, 
and from the Chestnut Ridgje on the south to Walker's 
Mountain on the north, and embraced eight or ten thousand 
acres. It was a part of the grant to Col. James Patton 
frown the crown of England. 

Gen. and Mrs. Preston urged Mrs. Russell to take a 
house in Abingdon, where she could be near them and 
their children. There they could see her every day, and 
take care of her; and there she would have such church 
privileges as the village oifered. There, too, she would more 
frequently meet, and could entertain more comfortably, the 
Methodist preachers. These and other considerations were 
esj^ecially urged by William C. Preston, who was devoted 
to his grandmother, and with whom he was a great favorite 
and pet. 

The house which Gen. Preston had built opposite the 
court-house was burned just as it was finished and partly 
furnished, and he was obliged to crowd his family into a 
small house which stood where he resided until 1836. He 
bought the lots in rear of it to Valley street, then known 
as "the back street." 

Mrs. Russell yielded to the solicitations of her grandson, 
and authorized him to rent a house for her. He did so prompt- 
ly, and congratulated himself on securing the commodious and 
comfortable frame house which stood near the site of Mr. D. 
G. Thomas's brick house. It could be reached by the family 
of Gen. Preston through the garden, and without the ex. 
posure of going upon Main street. With great glee W^m. 
C. Preston told his grandmother what he had done, and 
expatiated upon the advantages of the position, and how 
happy all the children would be at having her so near them, 
and so nicely and quietly fixed on the "back street." She 



32 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 

listened with interest and apparent pleasure to his animat- 
ed description until he pronounced the last two words. Then 
her expression changed, and, after a pause, she asked, 
"Where did you say the house is? " " On the back street," 
he replied. The old lady drew herself up, and with the 
air of offended dignity said: "Why, William! would you 
put ?/o?fr grandmother on iYieback streef^ No, sir; I am not 
proud, but I will not live in a house on the hack street of 
Abingdon!^' This settled the question, and Mr. Preston 
canceled the lease. Gren. and Mrs. Preston offered to rent 
or purchase any other house that could be had in the vil- 
lage if she would consent to live there ; but she refused, be- 
cause she preferred the quiet of the country. She would 
not live with either of her daughters. Finally she decided 
to take the log-house which stood near the creek, above and 
in sight of the " Town House," where her daughter, Mrs. 
Thompson, lived. This house is no longer standing. It 
was a story and a half high, wdth two rooms below and tw^o 
above. One of the lower rooms was quite large, and was 
used by Mrs. Russell both as a bed-room and sitting-room. 
The other, though much smaller, was large enough in those 
primitive times to accommodate old Father George Eiken, 
his wife, and two children ; nnd there they lived for several 
years. Before and after they occupied it, it was kept as 
the "prophet's chamber," and ever ready for any preacher 
or circuit-rider who wished to rest a day or more at this 
hallowed Bethel. There was a smaller log-cabin in the 
yard where single men could sleep. The kitchen and serv- 
ants' house were separate irom but quite near the dwelling. 
The stable was large enough for several horses. In the 
large room on the first floor of the dwelling-house was the 
movable pulpit, so often referred to by visitors. Every 
minister who came there was asked to use it, whenever a 
few of the neighbors could be collected for religious services. 
In the room above there were stored every autumn boxes 
of walnuts, hickory-nuts, filberts, and barrels of apples- 
It was the children's privilege to bring these down, and 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. ?;.] 

then, grouping themselves near "grandma's" feet, would 
crack the nuts on a piece of rough iron put upon the hearth 
with a hammer she kept for that purpose. 

Mrs. Russell was above the medium height. She was 
about five feet seven inches, and in the prime of life must 
have been of imposing presence. She may not have been 
what would be called " a beautiful w^oman," but no face with 
such brow and eyes could have been plain or unattractive. 
Hers was one of those faces which had the charm of being- 
more pleasant the more familiar it became. In the eyes of 
her grandchildren she was a beautiful old lady. Her eyes 
were of a soft, grayish blue, which varied in color under 
different lights, and changed with the emotions of her mind 
and heart: when she looked at her grandchildren, or those 
she especially loved, they had a sweet, tender expression 
that touched the heart with a pleasure like the soft breath 
of summer evening, and drew the little ones by magnetic 
power toward her to be petted and caressed ; in conversa- 
tion, they expressed every phase of feeling, and twinkled 
with fun, gleamed with animation, or sparkled when earnest 
and vivid thoughts agitated her mind. Both in intellect 
and person she resembled her brother, Patrick Henry. She 
had the same fertile and vivid imagination, the same ready 
command of language and aptness of illustration, and the 
same flexibility of voice and grace of elocution. These at- 
tributes made her narrations of incidents and descriptions 
of scenes and characters not only graphic, but fascinating ; 
and when roused to their full power in prayer, they rose to 
an eloquence that thrilled or awed the soul. Her every- 
day dress was very plain, but neat. Except in warm 
weather, when she wore dark calico, her gown was of some 
gray material resembling flannel (called, I believe, "bath- 
coating"), made simply, and reaching to the tops of her 
shoes. Around her neck was a cambric handkerchief, 
crossed over the chest and fastened at the waist. Some- 
times this handkerchief was of soft material, full and 
puffed. A small, plain cap, with a narrow, fluted frill, 



P)4 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 

completed her toilet. On Sundays, when she went to 
church, or on ceremonial occasions, she wore a black silk 
dress, more elaborately made, an old-fashioned bonnet of 
the best material, and such wrappings as the season re- 
quired. She never kept a carriage, and always mounted 
her horse from a big stump in the 3^ard, some three feet in 
diameter, reached by steps of solid blocks of wood. Some- 
times she presented a queer appearance when she stuck on 
her head a man's low-crowned felt hat, and walked about 
the yard and garden. And yet such was the simple dignity 
of her bearing that nothing she did seemed incongruous or 
ridiculous. Her impetuosity and impatience would have 
been so in any other, but with her they were natural, and 
scarcely provoked a smile. These traits were often mani- 
fested in the messages and dispatches sent to the Salt-works, 
six miles from her house. There she had an unlimited let- 
ter of credit for any thing she wanted, and from there she 
drew her money and supplies. 

It not unfrequently occurred that an unlooked-for num- 
ber of visitors came to the house, and for each person there 
was a horse, and occasionally a servant. No one was ever 
turned away; all were sure of a hearty welcome. She 
stowed her guests away as the Methodists divide their con- 
gregations — the women and children were put in one room, 
and the men and boys in another. Then there was scur- 
rying around for supplies, and Mrs. Russell's peculiarities 
were brought into the clearest light. She would stand upon 
the door-ste23, and, in that clear voice that sounded like a 
softened bugle-note, call for her servant " Dick ;" and by the 
time he presented himself she would scribble a note to the 
manager at the Salt-works, and pinning it to the lapel of 
his coat would say : " Now, Dick, run and saddle the horse, 
and fly over to the Salt-works; be in a hurry! don't stop! 
and bring me some meal" — or meat, or money, or whatever 
else the emergency required. It was necessary to tell Dick 
the message, for those hasty notes were often in such hiero- 
glyphics that none but the initiated could decipher them. 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. H5 

Dick (called by the negroes Blue Dick) was a remarka- 
ble person in appearance and character — a perfect Albino, 
though of pure African blood. He had the coarse features 
of his race, but the dull white color seen in some of the 
lower grades of Circassians. His head was covered by a 
full suit of creamy-white hair that looked like a big mop. 
His eyelashes and eyebrows were white, and his eyes had a 
slight pinkish tinge, and were crossed, and called "dancing 
eyes," because of their nervous restlessness. As the light 
of the sun affected them painfully, he habitually kept the lids 
partially closed, and with his head a little bent on one side 
he looked askant at those who spoke to him. His uncertain 
vision and dancing eyes communicated a shaking motion 
to his head ; and as he stood uncovered in the attitude of 
respect before his mistress, his mass of hair, though care- 
fully combed, puffed out over his head and shook as if 
stirred by a gentle breeze. His sight was better in cloudy 
days and at night. Like most of his race, he was a fearless 
rider, and on those hasty trips to the Salt-works dashed over 
the mountain and through the steep gorges of the hills at a 
pace that the boldest of horsemen would hesitate to follow. 
His intellect was feeble, but his heart was like TsTathanaers 
— free of guile, and full of the gentlest and kindest feelings. 
Left an orphan at an early age, he was taken to " the house " 
by Mrs. Russell and brought up under her immediate care. 
To her his attachment and devotion were boundless. While 
quite a youth he was converted, and joined the Methodist 
Church, and lived and died as pure, consistent, and earnest 
a Christian as can be found in any sphere of life. After 
Mrs. Russell's death, he was taken to Abingdon, and was 
cared for by Gen. Preston's family, with whom he lived. 
Dick imbibed the spirit and followed the example of his 
"old mistress" in praying. There was no occasion and no 
place when and where, if the Spirit moved him, he would 
not kneel down and pray. As he was oblivious of his sur- 
roundings in his rapt devotions, he gave distinct utterance 
to his petitions. Often transported by his emotions, his 



36 SKETCH OF THE LlfE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 

voice rose to a pitch that could be heard all over the prem- 
ises. He held prayer-meetings for the other servants, and 
was indefatigable in urging upon the young to get aboard 
the "old ship of Zion" before she sailed for the kingdom 
and they were left on the shore to perish. He lived to a 
good old age, and then sunk to rest as a child drops to sleep, 
in the confidence of a reasonable and religious hope, and in 
unshaken faith of a glorious resurrection and life with Je- 
sus in heaven. 

I am induced to give this notice of Dick because I regard 
him as a strikinc: illustration of the transformino- and ele- 
vating power of the Christian religion, and of its thorough 
adaptation to the wants of the soul in every condition of 
life and every grade of intellect. In Dick we have a poor, 
half-witted African slave, who from physical defects could 
not be taught to read, and yet who had as distinct a reali- 
zation of the atonement of Christ, and of pardon of sin and 
acceptance with God through Christ, as the most profound 
theologian, and who exhibited, by a humble, consistent, re- 
ligious life, the power of faith in a crucified Saviour. 

As soon as the horses of the guests were disposed of — 
"hitched" to the rack or fence if they were to stay for a 
few hours, or taken to the stable if to remain longer — and 
all were assembled in the "big room," Mrs. Russell would 
say : " Now, let us unite in prayer." If a minister or class- 
leader were present, the pulpit was placed in position, and 
"the brother" was requested to read a portion of Scripture 
and lead in prayer. If neither of those Church officials 
were of the guests, she herself led in prayer; and to hear 
her was a privilege that none ever enjoyed and forgot. 
Often there was a simplicity in the personality of her peti- 
tions that was as appropriate as touching, and made the 
persons prayed for feel as though they were borne in her 
strong arms of love immediately before the throne of grace. 
On other occasions, when her feelings were aroused by joy 
or sorrow or religious excitement, she would touch the whole 
gamut of human emotions and hush the soul into profound 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 37 

adoration, as if in the presence of God, or melt to tears of 
contrition or gratitude all who were present. Every inci- 
dent in life was an occasion for prayer. The joy of meeting, 
the pain of parting, thankfulness for blessings or mercies, 
submission under privations, disappointments, or bereave- 
ments, were alike to be carried to God in prayer. So large a 
portion of her time was passed upon her knees that the skin 
became indurated and callous. She did not, however, con- 
fine herself to the daylight and to kneeling, but often during 
the night would continue her devotions in subdued tones. 
Her little granddaughters, when visiting her, soon under- 
stood the sounds that roused them, and learned to control 
every sign that would interrupt iier. To give vitality to 
her prayers for her immediate family, the old lady seized 
the opportunities afforded by their visits to drop into their 
young minds the precious seeds of religious truth. And 
who can tell how much of the earnest piety and rare use- 
fulness which characterized the lives of those granddaugh- 
ters was due to the early lessons of that devoted woman ? 

No matter who the visitor might be, the prayer was not 
omitted. A member of the family relates the following- 
story. 

When Mr. Madison was a candidate for the presidency 
in 1808, he made a visit to Gen. Preston at the Salt-works. 
His wife, the celebrated Dolly Payne, was a kinswoman of 
Mrs. Russell, and Mr. Madison himself was also allied to 
the family, and drawn more closely to it by the marriage 
of Col. Thomas Madison to a sister of Mrs. Russell, and 
his guardianship of her daughter who had married Gen. 
Prancis Preston. 

Mr. Madison was not so engrossed by his presidential can- 
vass as to be unmindful of these social claims. Accompanied 
by Gen. Preston, he sought Mrs. Russell at her own home. 
She received him at the door with a cordial welcome ; and 
as soon as he was fairly in the house, entirely undismayed 
by the dignity of her visitor, she pursued her usual habit; 
and being a tall woman, and he a short roan, she laid her 

2 



38 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 

hand upon his head, and gently pressing him to his knees, 
as she knelt by his side, with all her force and zeal she 
prayed for him as the prospective head of the nation. 

Speaking of this occurrence afterward, Mr. Madison is 
reported as saying : " I have heard all the first orators of 
America, but I never heard any eloquence as great as that 
prayer of Mrs. Russell on the occasion of my visit to her." 

She did not pray in church, nor in large assemblies. Her 
meek and gentle nature shrunk from notoriety, and she ke])t 
strictly within the sphere of what she believed was woman's 
true position. 

When Wm. C. Preston was expected on his return from 
Europe, Mrs. Russell was at Gen. Preston's. He had been 
absent more than a year, and she, with the family, was 
anxiously awaiting his arrival. As soon as the rapture of 
greetings was over, and she had pressed him to her heart 
and kissed him again and again, she said : " Now, let us 
all unite in prayer, and return thanks to God for bringing 
safely back to us our dear son." Wm. C. Preston frequent- 
ly recurred to this incident, and rarely without adding that 
he never heard such an eloquent effusion of pious gratitude. 
The family were moved to tears, and wept from excess of 
joy. And yet one of the reasons for thankfulness she espe- 
cially emphasized was that God had shielded him from "the 
wiles of those wicked foreign women," and brought him 
back "unencumbered by a fri various French wife." 

This brief and imperfect sketch may give some idea of 
the woman who for nearly forty years was a zealous Meth- 
odist and conscientious Christian. All of her influence " in 
the sphere of life where God had placed her" was used in 
promoting true religion, and in aiding to establish on a firm 
foundation the Church of her choice— "Jesus Christ him- 
self being the chief corner-stone." She was brought up 
in the faith of the Protestant Episcopnl Church, but was 
not confirmed, as there was no bishop then in Virginia to 
administer thi? rite. The fervor and zeal of the early 
frontier Methodists were congenial to her impulsive and 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 39 

enthusiastic nature, and she entered with all the ardor of 
that gifted nature into their feelings and purposes. She 
took a deep interest in and felt a cordial sympathy for that 
class of toiling, self-sacrificing circuit-riders, the true pio- 
neers of religion, who fearlessly sought the " lost sheep" on 
the outskirts of society and in the sequestered gorges of the 
mountains, and brought them back to the fold of God. Her 
house was always a shelter for them in the times of their 
brief re^jose; and thither they came, and drew from that 
perennial fountain of piety fresh courage and vigor for their 
noble work. Her peculiar gifts of conversation and exhor- 
tation were exerted in elevating their tone of feeling, soft- 
ening, and polishing their manners, and indicating courses 
of reading. Many of them were rough, uneducated mount- 
aineers, full of zeal and purpose, but without the refinement 
and polish which result from associating with women of cul- 
tivation and experience. Nor did they go away from her 
hospitable home empty-handed. A new suit of clothes, a 
fresh horse, or money for necessary expenses, were bestowed 
with a tact that never offended the most delicate sensibili- 
ties. The recipient doubtless often felt that those gifts 
were more for the cause in which he was engaged than for 
himself. Richly did she deserve the title of " mother in 
Israel." To this day, after the lapse of two generations, 
her spirit seems to hover over the region where most of her 
life was spent, and in that community many devout Meth- 
odists are illustrating by their walk and conversation "the 
beauty of holiness." 

In those pioneer days of Methodism in South-west Vir- 
ginia converts were chiefly made among the poor and lowly. 
They therefore felt that in winning the wide social influence 
of this gifted woman they were not only advancing their 
denominational interests, but, what was far more important 
to them, promoting the cause of true religion. They cher- 
ished her greatly, and have embalmed her memory in the 
heart and the traditions and the history of their noble 
Church. They have gone still farther, and sent it down to 



40 SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HENRY. 

po3terity by a permanent memorial of the most compli- 
mentary kind. The earliest educational venture of their 
denomination in that quarter of the State (Emory and Hen- 
ry College) bears united the name of this devoted woman 
and that of one of their most esteemed bishops. 

Of Mrs. Russell's adult descendants there are very few 
who are not members of one or another of the evano-elical 
Churches. God's promises never fail; and if the sainted 
dead are permitted to see fruit of their travail on earth, 
how the soul of that "mother in Israel" must rejoice as 
she welcomes her children, one after another, into the rest 
prepared for the children of God! 

" Mrs. Elizabeth Russell departed this life the 18th day 
of March, 1825. She lay five weeks and three days of an 
illness caused by a fcill. She met death with Christian 
composure, after living an exemplary life of seventy-six 
years, and was buried, by her request, at Aspenvale." 

This is the record left us by her granddaughter, Mrs. 
Maria McAnally, who was the companion and nurse of 
Mrs. Russell for several years before her death. After her 
death, when Dr. Wm. P. Thompson decided to move to 
Missouri, Mrs. Sartih B. Preston insisted that he should 
leave his daughters (her nieces) with her, and not expose 
them to the rough, unprotected life of the frontier whither 
he was going. To this he assented, and Eliza and Maria 
Thompson were regarded as children of Mrs. Preston's 
family from that time. 

Eliza married Mr. Williams, of Tennessee, who died not 
long afterward. His wife sunk under the blow, and soon 
followed him to the grave. 

Maria married the Rev. D. R. McAnally, a distinguished 
Methodist minister, now residing in St. Louis, Mo. 

Both of these ladies were remarkable for their consistent 
religious lives, and their devotion to the Church of the grand- 
mother who had nourished them in purity and holiness 
from infancy. Mrs. Williams left no children. Only a son 
and daughter of Mrs. McAnally survive. The former is a 



SKETCH OF THE LIFE OF ELIZABETH HEXRY. 41 



Methodist minister, and u]5on the latter the m.nilh' of Ikt 
sainted mother seems to have fallen. 

A graceful and appropriate tril)ute to Mrs. Russolls char- 
acter was paid b\^ the Hon. Charles C. Johnstone in an 
obituary puldished in the Abingdon Gazette; but the tiles of 
that paper, with many valuable public and private papers, 
were destroyed when Abingdon was burned in 1863, and no 
copy of it is now known to exist. Thus. L. TjiKSTOX. 

University of Virginia, April, \^6l. 



<*>'APPEfiDIX.)«> 



MRS. ELIZABETH RUSSELL. 

KKOM ".SIXTY YE.'^KS IN .\ St'HODL-KODM." I!Y .M KS. .ir 1,1 .\ .\.TEVIS. 

About this time I became acquainted with this excellent but eccentric 
old lady, Mrs. Eussell, thi-ouo-li the medium of (Jeneral Frank Preston's 
family. Mi-s. Rnsselfs tirst liusl»and was (Tcnei-al William Campbell, the 
hero of King's Mountain. Mrs. Prest(»n was the <»nly child of this mar- 
riage 

Mrs. Russell was in every way an extraoi'dinary woman. The sister of 
Patrick Henry, she possessed some of his characteristics. Her second 
husband, (xeneral Eussell, was quite as distinguished as the tirst for woi'th 
and bravery. Both she and General Russell weiv faithful membci-s of 
the Methodist Church. They were converted in the good old-fashioned 
way, when nobody olijected to shouting if it came fnjin an overtiowing 
heart tilled with the love of God. The old General walked worthy of 
his vocation until he was taken home to a l)etter world, leaving his excel- 
lent widow a true type of Weslcyan Methodism. -'Madame Eussell." as 
she was generally called, was a '-mother in Israel,'" and the Methodist 
preachers in those days esteemed her next to Bishop Asl)ury. . . . At 
this place (near the cam])-gi-ound in the vicinity of the Suljihur S])rings) 
a wooden house had been erected under hei' special su])ervisi()n and ac- 
cording to her own idea of consistency. Here slie lived like the good old 
Moravian, Count Zinzeiidorf who wrote ovei' the jiortals of his mansion : 

" As guests we only here remain, 
And hence the house is slight and plain 

[Therefore, turn to the stronghnkl. fie jirisaiurs of hope) ; 
We have a better home above, 
And there we find our warme;:^t love." 

There were two rooms below, large and spacious, the one tirst entered 
being her common sitting-room. A door from this opened into one much 
larger, which contained a pulpit and seats for a moderate-sized congi-e- 
gation. VYhen a preacher visited her she said: -'Brother, how long will 
you tany? There's the pulpit ; shall I send out and call together a con- 
gregation?" No visitors came to see her and remained an hour without 
Ijeing asked to pray. If they declined she herself prayed, mentioning 
bv name every person for whom sbe |)rayed. 



APPENDIX. 43 



She dressed in the style of'Ki — full skirts, with an ()vei"-i!.-arnient. lonii'. 
flowino-, ()])en in front, and eontined at the waist by a y-ii'die, and math- of 
a material called Bath eoatini>-. In this yirdle wei'e tueked two oi- thive 
pocket-handkei'chiefs. The sleeves of her dress canic jnst lielow hei" el- 
bows, the lower |>art of the arms bein<i- covered with lono;, half-handed 
gloves. She wore a kerchief of linen lawn, wdiite as snow, and sometimes 
an apron of the same material: and on her head a very plain cap, above 
which was usually j)lace(l a broad-brimmed hat <>-iven her b}- Bishop As- 
bury in days lon^- u-one by. and woi'ii by the old lady with jirobably the 
same feelinji; tliat Klisha wore Elijalfs mantle. She was ei'ect as in the 
meridian of life, though she must have lieen seventy years old when I 
tirst saw her. A magniticent-looking woman, "she walked every inch a 
queen." reminding me of (^ne of the old-fashioned ])ictures of Vandyke. 
She never shook the hand of a poor Methodist ])reacher in parting with- 
out leaving in it a libei-al donation ; she knew that the gospel was free, 
but she also knew that -the laborei- was worthy of his hire." The cele- 
brated William ('. Pivston. of South Carolina, her oldest grandson, loved 
her with a devotion highly commendable to himself and agreealde to his 
gi-andmother. In his yeai'lj- visits to his native home his cai'riage w^is 
found tirst at the door of her humlde dwelling. He gave evidence on his 
dying-bed that his gran<lmother"s religion had been his guiding star, and 
his love for hei- shone as bi-ightly in the evening as in the morning and me- 
ridian of his life. I knew William ( \ Preston weW. He was distinguished 
as a man of cultivated intellect, sound judgment, and warm affections. 
As an oratoi- J do not think he ever had his superior in the United States, 
though he sought not the world-wide celebrity he might have attained. 
He was heard to say, while President of Columbia College, in South Car- 
olina : "I believe teaching is my vocation, and I would that I had spent 
my whole life in striving, like Socrates, to educate the 3-oung, for I have 
proved the tiifticulty of instructing those more advanced in life." 

An anecdote related to me b}' Mrs. Russell illustrates the estimation in 
wliicli Patrick Henry was held throughout his native State. When she 
tirst came to South-western Vii-ginia she attended a camp-meeting, where 
her relationshi]) to Patrick Ileni-y became whispered about. Such was the 
crowd that immediately pressed around her, to get a glimpse of one so 
distinguished, that she was only rescued from being crushed by the sur- 
rounding multitude by mounting upon a stump, where she was compelled 
to turn round and i-ound. anudst the uproarious demonstrations of an en- 
thusiastic peo])le. who crie<l out, -Hurrah for Pati'iek Henry'"" with an 
occasional shout for (Jeneral Campbell. 



M APPENDIX 



EMENDATIONS BY THE AUTHOR. 



[Note to page 2:1 ; lines 20-29.] 
This was written before I read -The Life of Patrielc llcury," b}' 
Moses Coit Tylei'. He proves that Mr. Henry was baptize<l and made a 
member of the Protestant E[)isc'opal Church in early life, and that he 
lived and died an exemplary member of it, and communed as often as an 
op)>ortunity was offered. On such occasions he always fasted until he 
had communicated, and spent the day in the ii^reatest retirement. This 
he did both while Governor and afterward. (Tyler's Tjife of Henry, pp. 
349-350.) The influences deduced from his character and tlie tenor of 
his life are confirmed and established l)y conclusive evidence. 

[Note to page 31 ; tu follow line 20.] 
William ('. Preston so strikin<«:ly resembled his grandfather, (xeneral 
William Campbell, that on one (occasion his life was endano-ered by it. 
He was travelinii; from Abinifdon, Ya.. to Columbia. S. C.. on horseback 
alone. The route he followed was very much tlie same as that taken by 
the expedition led by General Cam])bell which culmiiuited in the l»attle 
of Kini^'s Mountain. When he reached the vicinity of the battle-field 
he stojtped about midday at a house to rest, get dinner, and have his horse 
fed. While waiting until dinner was ready he lay down upon a rough 
bench in the ])()reh, and was nearly asleep when he was awakened l»y the 
presence t>f an old woman stai'ing at him with a fiendish expression. As 
he aroused himself she retired into the house. This excited his appre- 
hension, and deciding to test the matter further, he rela])sed into his 
former ])osition and feigned being asleej). Soon the old woman reap- 
peared, an<l. l>ending over him. sci-utinized more closely his features, hei* 
own darkened liy intense and concentrated ]>assion. This time, more 
thoroughly aroused, he met her gaze, and as she did so she said, "Young 
man. what is your name? " He answered, -'My name is Preston." 
• Where are you from, and where are you going?" she fiercely demanded. 
■ I am from Yirginia, and am going to Columltia. S. C.,"' he calmly re- 
plit'<l. -'Well." said she, '• 1 am glad your name is not Campbell. If it 
(caa^ you wouldn't get out of these mountains alive, for you ai-e the very 
image of the worst man I ever saw, one General William Cam}>bell. Get 
up now ; 3'oui- dinner is ready."' Mi". Preston dispatclied his dinner 
(i[uickly, carefully suppressed his Christian name, left promptly, and made 
good speed from that neighborhood during the afternoon. He subse- 
((uently ascertained that this Moman was the widow of a notorious Tory 
who was hanged after the l)attle of King's Mountain. 



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